Toy vehicle tracks of many types are known. These include toy vehicle tracks incorporating flexible track sections, such as that developed by Mattel, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, and disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 434,815, filed Oct. 18, 1982. In this application, there are provided flexible track sections having a number of interconnecting segments. The interconnections are provided by a first section which mates with or is connected to a second section. Both sections have planes or portions formed of somewhat resilient material to permit flexing of the planar sections and both the bottom and the side walls of the track sections are configured to overlap to thereby prevent aberrations or the like so as to eliminate vehicle bouncing during travel of gravity-powered vehicles along the track.
U.S. Pat. No, 4,094,508, filed June 13, 1978, discloses a combination type game having a base on which is mounted a transparent tube which may be formed in an asthetically pleasing coil shape. A mouth piece is attached to the tube. A pipe bowl is positioned along the tube and is in communication with the interior of the tube. A lightweight ball is mounted in and capable of moving within the tube by a smoker drawing smoke through the tube to advance the ball to a predetermined position within the tube. In another embodiment, the device is adapted to be used by two or more smokers by inserting a fitting having the appropriate number of outlets and smoking tubes connected to these outlets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,907, issued Mar. 10, 1981, is drawn to an improved portable traction track for a vehicle driving wheel, and has plurality of eight sections flexibly connected to one another to form an elongate strip adapted to be pulled under a rotating drive wheel. Each of the base sections include transversely spaced vertical side walls which have longitudinally spaced edges disposed in predetermined angular relationship to edges of the immediately adjacent side walls in a decreasing angular relationship from the front toward the rear of the strip. The edges of the side walls are also provided with locking features such that upon flexing of the base sections in one direction, the side sections engage one another to permit only a predetermined amount of flexing of that portion of the strip. This disclosure provides a construction giving a bridge effect as a wheel of a vehicle rotates and pulls the strip under the wheel to the point that the vehicle is driven out of a rut or the like in which it might be stuck.
None of the above set forth prior art, however, discloses a toy vehicle track of the type set forth in the present application, in which the track includes a beginning and an end, shaped in the form of an animal or the like. And, in which a toy vehicle running along the track may exit from the track through the head to simulate a vehicle traveling along the animal's body and emerging from the animal's mouth.